In the critical moments amid the dust-choked battlefield, Lewis found himself surrounded by a tightening ring of Outlaws, their combined firepower crashing down on him like a raging storm. They knew full well that ordinary bullets couldn't kill a monster like him. Their objective wasn't to take his life, but to stop him from moving, no matter what it took.
Gunfire roared deafeningly as rounds slammed into Lewis again and again. The sheer force of each impact began to leave red bruises across his otherwise impenetrable skin, preventing him from charging straight through to reach the shooters. He tried to push forward, to crush them like insects, but the relentless barrage from every direction began to slow his heavy body, binding him in place like a giant caught in invisible chains.
"Damn it! You lunatics aren't even giving me a second to breathe?!"
Lewis roared, raising his massive arms, now covered in scrapes, to shield his face. The continuous impacts from heavy machine gun fire made his thick skin burn, as if it were being seared by heated metal.
While the Outlaws' attention was completely fixed on the towering brute in front of them, Lloyd, who had vanished earlier, reappeared in utter silence about a quarter mile from the clash. He stood still, his gaze locked onto the group wielding the railguns.
The moment the static electricity along the enemy barrels began to flicker rapidly, signaling that the next tungsten rounds had finished reloading and were ready to fire, Lloyd moved with calm precision. He drew two ordinary-looking handguns, weapons that seemed entirely unremarkable, and held them steady.
"This should be close enough."
He murmured to himself, narrowing his eyes as he aimed through the orange haze with quiet focus. Then, in one smooth motion, his fingers pulled both triggers with speed and precision.
Bang! Bang!
Two lead rounds tore through the air, flying straight into the muzzles of the railguns at the exact instant the Outlaws pulled their triggers to launch the tungsten rounds. On their own, the bullets were insignificant compared to the destructive power of electromagnetic acceleration. But when they jammed the barrels at the precise moment that immense force was about to be released, the result was catastrophic.
Boom!
The overwhelming energy, with nowhere to go, reversed back into the weapons themselves, causing them to detonate violently. A blinding flash erupted as jagged fragments of metal blasted outward in every direction, hurling the nearby Outlaws through the air. Some were thrown aside, crashing into the dust in agony from the close-range shockwave.
"Whoa! That was amazing, Sophie!"
Roxanne's bright voice rang out as she clapped enthusiastically, her cheeks puffed as she continued chewing her cookie with obvious delight. She showed no intention of putting it down to join the fight, watching instead as if she were enjoying a spectacular fireworks show from the sidelines.
Even with the railguns destroyed, the remaining Outlaws were far from finished. Their predator instincts kicked in at full force. Two men leapt onto the back of a modified pickup truck and tore away the final covering over their last set of weapons.
When advanced technology failed them, they fell back on the most brutally reliable option they had… two M2 Browning heavy machine guns roared to life.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The deafening roar of .50 BMG rounds echoed wildly as the guns fired in relentless bursts. The recoil shook the entire vehicle, while massive lead rounds tore through the air like a storm of metal, slamming into Lewis as if trying to grind him into the ground. Long belts of ammunition fed into the chambers one after another, alternating fire to keep constant pressure, kicking up a dense cloud of dust around him so thick it swallowed even the sunlight.
"You just won't let go, will you, you damn pests!"
Lewis roared, his entire body tensing as veins bulged beneath his skin, straining against the even more brutal impacts crashing into him.
23 sprinted through the haze, racing back toward the original battlefield. The moment he arrived, the scene before him was chaos, Lewis still holding his ground, locked in a brutal standoff against the Outlaws as heavy machine gun fire continued to hammer into the giant's body without pause.
Not far away, Sophie and Roxanne stood on guard, watching with tense expressions. Sophie had just sent out a flurry of radio calls moments earlier after catching sight of something alarming.
Zenos.
The scar-masked man stepped out from the shadow of the ruined building 23 had entered earlier. In one hand, he gripped Sven by the collar, dragging the unconscious man across the dust as if hauling the carcass of freshly caught prey.
"That bastard…"
23 ground his teeth, coming to an abrupt stop. His cold gaze locked onto Zenos, who was about to walk away with their most valuable target right in front of him, at the exact moment the P-Type unit was tied down in the chaos of battle.
"Don't come any closer!"
Lewis's roar thundered across the battlefield, overpowering even the relentless gunfire. His massive body twisted under the constant barrage of bullets slamming into him without pause. Around him, the ground was littered with the shattered remains of railguns, torn apart and reduced to twisted metal by sheer force.
"They're using heavy machine guns! .50 caliber rounds, you won't be able to take that!"
He shouted, forcing the warning through gritted teeth as he raised his powerful arms to shield his face. Even his hardened skin had begun to give, bruises forming as blood seeped through under the relentless assault of armor-piercing rounds.
"Then why aren't you helping him?!"
23 snapped, turning sharply toward Sophie, who stood a short distance away with her fists clenched.
"I'm not built like that!"
Sophie shot back, her voice trembling.
"Even Lewis is barely holding on! If I step in, I'll be torn in half!"
Amid the blood-soaked chaos, Zenos hoisted Sven's unconscious body and tossed it onto the back of a pickup without a second thought before gunning the engine and tearing out of the area. One by one, the convoy of hunters began to withdraw, unleashing sustained heavy machine gun fire to suppress any pursuit. Gradually, the roar of engines and gunfire faded into the distance, leaving behind only an oppressive silence and a dense curtain of dust where not even the faintest trace of the enemy remained.
"Damn it!"
23 spat out the curse, fury boiling over as he turned to look at what remained of the P-Type unit's armored vehicle, now nothing more than burning wreckage and thick plumes of black smoke. The entire operation had collapsed into ruin, just as Gareth came rushing back to regroup, his body coated in a heavy layer of dust.
.....
At the same time, Drago, having broken away from his clash with 23, pushed through the haze at full speed, heading straight for Chloe out of concern. The chaos had scattered everyone in different directions, leaving the team fragmented. Then he caught sight of a familiar figure Jenkins, standing amid the ruins.
"Where's everyone else?!"
Drago fired off the question, his eyes scanning the surroundings for the rest of the team.
"No idea. I've been trying to find them too."
Jenkins replied, his expression tense as he kept his focus on the thermal display in his mask, now beginning to glitch under interference from the lingering smoke and debris. The two of them stood still for a moment in the eerie silence that followed the gunfire, completely unaware that, at that very moment, Edward was facing death alone on the rooftop of the abandoned mall, with Alicia.
"Hey… help me…!"
The panicked shout echoed down from above, snapping Jenkins and Drago's attention upward. What they saw froze them for a split second, Edward standing stiffly at the edge of the rooftop of the abandoned mall. It was only five stories high, but with nothing but bare concrete below, a wrong landing would end him for good.
Behind him, Alicia advanced step by step, slow but suffocating in her presence. The murderous aura radiating from the parasite within her pressed down so heavily that the boy looked on the verge of breaking.
"Jump!"
Drago roared from below.
"Are you insane?! I'm not immortal like you!"
Edward shouted back, his voice trembling as his gaze flicked between the drop beneath him and the girl closing in.
"Then, What are you waiting for? A royal invitation?! Or you wanna end up on Connor's table again, wide awake this time?!"
Drago shot back, his tone deliberately mocking, trying to force the boy's survival instincts to take over.
Vroooom!
The modified pickup's engine roared through the dust and smoke as Chloe came skidding to a stop right below at the critical moment.
"Edward, jump!"
She shouted, wrenching the wheel into position.
"Be ready to catch him!"
She barked at Drago, her tone sharp and commanding.
"Don't forget what I told you…"
Alicia murmured, her expression unreadable, leaving behind a cryptic note just as Edward squeezed his eyes shut and hurled himself off the fifth-floor rooftop.
Crash!
The boy's body slammed straight into Drago's arms, the force of the impact sending both of them crashing onto the concrete. Edward cried out in pain, his body wracked with shock, while Drago took the brunt of it. His head and back struck the ground with a heavy thud, one arm bending at a grotesque angle.
But only a moment passed before the sound of bone snapping back into place echoed out, his body twisting and mending itself in an instant. The three of them wasted no time, scrambling into the back of the pickup as Chloe floored the accelerator, sending them tearing off into the haze, leaving Alicia standing alone atop the building.
Alicia walked slowly through the haze, making her way back to regroup with the remaining P-Type members. She found 23 and Gareth standing over a strange liquid spilled across the concrete, something that had leaked from Sven's mask during his clash with Zenos.
"Sweet syrup…?"
23 muttered, touching the viscous substance with his finger as he examined it with mild surprise.
"Why would he be carrying something like that?"
Gareth asked, puzzled as he looked at the residue beginning to dry on the ground.
"Forget it… have you reestablished contact with the dome?"
23 cut the conversation short, turning toward Sophie, who was busy working with a backup communication device.
"I've got a connection. They're sending a support unit to pick us up… do we pursue them now, or return to the dome first?"
Sophie asked, pressing for a decision.
"Chasing them now won't get us anywhere. We don't even know where they've gone to ground."
23 muttered irritably, scanning the aftermath of their defeat.
"I'll remember this, you Outlaws… one day, I'll wipe every last one of you out!"
Lewis growled, his voice thick with resentment. Bruises still marked his body, a lingering reminder of the humiliation of being held back by sheer firepower.
.....
Deep within the lowest level of the underground rail system, dim lights flickered against the cold steel walls. Sven slowly opened his eyes, pain surging through every part of his body. But what made his eyes widen in shock were the heavy steel restraints binding both his wrists and ankles, thick chains locking him in place so tightly he could barely move.
Standing before him was a broad-shouldered man wearing a scratched mask. Zenos faced away, calmly removing his armor and gear piece by piece without a word.
"Who the hell are you… and why did you capture me?!"
Sven forced out the question, his voice strained with anger and rising panic.
"Guess I forgot to introduce myself… my name's Zenos. I'm one of the people you call Outlaws."
He replied without turning around, setting the steel shield down on the table with a heavy clang.
"I brought you here because my boss has taken an interest in experimental subjects like you… oh, and don't bother telling me your name. I'm not interested in remembering it."
The coldness in his words left Sven momentarily speechless. He strained against the chains, trying to tear free, but it was useless. The speed that once defined him meant nothing now, bound within this sealed space with no escape.
"Don't bother. There's no way you're getting out of that."
Zenos said flatly as he set the last piece of his gear down on the metal table.
"And right now, you don't even have your sweet fuel. Even if I took those chains off, you wouldn't make it very far."
Sven froze, his eyes widening in shock as his secret was laid bare so easily.
"You… how the hell do you know that?!"
"Every time you're about to attack, you draw that stuff through the tube connected to your mask."
Zenos slowly turned to face him, revealing eyes shaped by years of hard survival.
"And no matter how much you take in, your speed doesn't change. You don't get stronger, you don't go berserk… so we can rule out stimulants."
He paused, then stepped closer to his restrained prey.
"That leaves one answer. Your body needs a massive amount of energy just to function. Otherwise, your muscles would tear themselves apart. Your wounds heal, but slowly… which makes it even clearer. Your power isn't natural speed. It's acceleration. The more you push it, the faster you move. And the faster you move… the more energy you burn, until your body starts consuming itself."
Sven clenched his teeth, the weight of defeat pressing into his chest. It wasn't just the loss in combat. This man had seen straight through him, past the surface, into the limits he had tried so hard to hide.
"Well now, our dear experiment…"
A deep, commanding voice cut through the silence as the heavy steel door slid open with a grinding force. Isaac stepped into the train carriage with the composed presence of a man who ruled from the shadows, two towering enforcers trailing closely behind him.
"My name is Isaac. Though most people know me as Don Isaac Claudio… and I'm gonna make you an offer you can't refuse."
He introduced himself calmly, exhaling a thick plume of cigar smoke that spread through the tense air. His gaze remained fixed on Sven, bound and helpless, studying him with the cold appraisal of a man inspecting a prized acquisition.